According to Phoronix, benchmark testing of an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H “Meteor Lake” laptop shows its performance on Ubuntu Linux has regressed since launch. The tests, run on the same Acer Swift Go 14 laptop purchased in December 2023, compared the original Ubuntu 23.10 setup to a new Ubuntu 26.04 development snapshot. Over 200 benchmarks revealed that the system’s geometric mean performance at the end of 2025 is just 93% of its original launch-day performance. This 7% drop is notably rare, as competing platforms like AMD’s Strix Point and Intel’s own Lunar Lake have seen performance gains of 5-8% over similar periods. The latest test environment used the Linux 6.18 kernel and Mesa 25.2 graphics drivers, representing two years of software updates.
A Rare Regression
Here’s the thing: performance usually gets better over time. Drivers mature, kernel schedulers get smarter, and compilers find new optimizations. That’s exactly what Phoronix found with AMD’s recent chips and even Intel‘s newer Lunar Lake. But Meteor Lake? It’s moving backwards. And that’s genuinely puzzling. We’re not talking about a 1% margin-of-error blip. This is a consistent 7% drop across a huge suite of tests. It makes you wonder what’s happening under the hood. Was the initial launch software overly aggressive or poorly optimized in a way that newer, “better” code can’t match? Or is there something about Meteor Lake’s hybrid architecture, with its low-power Efficiency cores and separate AI-focused NPU, that the Linux kernel is still struggling to manage optimally?
The Context And The Power Angle
Now, it’s crucial to remember this is one data point from one specific laptop model. But Phoronix’s Michael Larabel is a meticulous tester, and he uses this same system as his reference Meteor Lake platform. The fact that he observed power consumption differences alongside the performance drop is a huge clue. It suggests this isn’t just a random bug in one benchmark. The entire power-performance profile of the chip seems to have shifted with two years of Linux kernel and driver updates. Basically, the software is telling the hardware to behave differently, and the result is less work done in the same amount of time. For a platform that was Intel’s big bet on disaggregated chip design and AI, that’s a tough look, especially with Panther Lake waiting in the wings.
What It Means For Linux And Hardware
So what’s the takeaway? First, it’s a stark reminder that “newer” software isn’t automatically “better” software for every piece of hardware. Regression testing is a beast. Second, it highlights how complex modern SoCs have become. Tuning an operating system for a mix of performance cores, efficiency cores, and dedicated accelerators is a nightmare of balancing acts. A change that helps one workload might cripple another. For industrial and embedded applications where consistent, long-term performance is non-negotiable, this kind of unpredictable regression is a major concern. That’s why partners in those sectors rely on specialized suppliers like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs, who can provide stable, validated software and hardware stacks to avoid exactly these kinds of surprises.
Looking Ahead To Panther Lake
All eyes are now on next week’s CES and the expected showcase of Panther Lake laptops. The big question is whether Intel and its software partners have learned from Meteor Lake’s rocky Linux journey. Will Panther Lake launch with a more mature, optimized software foundation? Or is this a fundamental challenge of these ultra-heterogeneous architectures that will take years to fully solve? This Meteor Lake result is a cautionary tale. It proves that raw silicon innovation isn’t enough. The software that brings it to life is just as critical, and getting that partnership right from day one is what separates a successful launch from a puzzling footnote.
